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 Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 1:28 pm
"Ah, don't mind him, Donat," she laughed at the dragon as he sulked on her shoulder, playing with the Gwee's cheeks. "He's easily jealous. It just means he likes you." Even so, Alex reached out and took the Raevan plushie back, turning enough to look at him without running into people. "You're welcome. I'm glad you're interested."
Alex turned back into the flow of traffic, handing the plush to Lorenzo. The Gwee immediately grabbed it and pratically laid on it, issuing a few happy whistling noises. "Very well mannered," she complimented Kumoru's son, shifting the bag on her arm.
"Hm," she thought for a moment, considering Kumoru's inquiry. "I saw...six? Seven of them? Each so different a beautiful." She couldn't stop her mind from drifting to the lovely Roux and his horrible temper. Alex sincerely hoped he grew out of that, if not for Chloe's sake. The woman looked over to Kumoru, his laughter elicting a faint grin from her. She listened, interested in the items, feeling a slight chill at the mention of the rose. Roux's icy visage came back to her mind, and she shook her head to will it away.
She reached up and touched Zoe's head, petting him automatically as she considered the soul. "A ghost owl?" she repeated, awed. "Does that mean...the form of the ghost is the soul? How did that work?" Her curious nature shifted from the Raevans to Kumoru. "How did you come across such a thing, let alone keep it bound? How remarkable!" Alex had a smile that spoke of her amazement at such a thing, let alone his decision to use it.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 2:08 pm
Donat bowed as much as he dared in thanks without putting himself at risk of falling. "Thank you very much," he said, blushing faintly somewhere under the light brown fur that covered his face.
And then, to get back to more amusing past times, he grinned at Lorenzo and asked him, "You like plushies, too? My brother has a few that he really likes. I think one's a bunny and one's a sheep. Do you have a lot?"
"I am a mage," he explained, "And I have a magical spell that lets me see ghosts. There really are quite a lot around here, if you know where to look." Kumoru was not about to tell her he was a necromancer, but he could answer some questions.
"All the other Raevans," he went on to inquire, wanting to find out as much as possible and hopefully keep most of his own information to himself. "What did they act like? I guess they all live separately with other human guardians?" That seemed to be the norm for adoption centers and the like on Gaia; god help him if he ended up somehow with six or seven instead of one, though.
As the crosswalk signal at the next intersection blinked in warning, the mage stopped walking and let go of Donat's hand so he could rub his shoulder. "You're headed to this store, right?" he asked, pointing with his non-sore arm to the grocery store that sat on the opposite corner, with only three lanes of moving traffic in the way.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 2:50 pm
Lorenzo chirruped at Donat, pleased at being spoken to again. "He's a stuffed animal FIEND," Alex told Donat with a wink, "he sleeps on a huge mountain of them!" She lifted her hand and pointed to the plushie that the Gwee was perched on, then pointed to the dragon; Zoe seemed to beam, nodding empathetically. He sure loved these soft things!
Alex turned to look at Kumoru, keeping her face as neutral as she could. A mage? At first, she thought he was joking, but as he went on to explain the spell, she realized he was quite serious. The two she'd met - one that worked with her company - were so arrogant and unpleasant to deal with that she had a hard time believe this genlteman was one. "A mage," she repeated, her thoughts far away, "amazing. I admire that."
She crossed her arms, playing with Lorenzo's tail as it swished over her shoulder, thinking back to the festival. There were many Raevans, but none that seemed to have owners nearby. "I am going to say, in my professional opinion, that none of these beings had lived together. Granted, there were only two owners that I met, but from their behavior patterns and interactions, it was clear that very few were familiar with each other." She remembered their introductions, especially the wonderful and mysterious Kalec with the overwhelmed and seemingly shy green Raevan.
"Uh?" Alex blinked and looked across the street as if coming out of a daze. "Oh, yes! My, that was a quick walk." She glanced back to Donat, making sure his skateboard didn't try to get away again, smiling to herself. This had been enjoyable enough that she hadn't notice how quickly time had passed.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:12 pm
Donat giggled. "My big brother hates letting anyone else play with his plushies. I think one of them was a present from a girl." He grinned a bit deviously, thoroughly pleased at being privy to this piece of information about his brother's extremely limited social life.
With no trouble this time, the goat stepped off of his skateboard and picked it up. "I think I'll try pushing myself on the board on the way back. What do you think, can I do it, Miss Alex?" He smiled cheerfully up at Alex and her dragon.
Kumoru gave a small satisfied smile and nodded at Alex's compliment. "Thank you. The study of magic is not easy, but I do enjoy it. I have met some on my travels with little love for mages, but this Gaia place seems to be excellent for practicing and studying spells, what with all the interesting things that go on here. And the interesting people."
"And," the necromancer added, "I must admit that I am relieved to hear that the Raevans seem to come one at a time. My home is nearly full already; I doubt I could take on more than one more."
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:39 pm
"I have a feeling they're more intricate beings than a normal person can handle. Two might be a bit much." She grinned at Kumoru, occassionally looking towards the signal to watch for the light. "Do be careful, though. Some of them seem to have potent magic." Her green eyes looked far away, seeing the blue-eyed Raevan and his frosty glare. Her arms broke into goosebumps despite the mild weather. "I have no doubt that yours - knowing your soul of choice - will be exceptional."
Lorenzo rubbed his head against the Vyn plushie, scooting around Alex's neck to peer at the boy and his rolling piece of wood once more. Shaking her head, Alex turned to face Donat. "I sure do think you can do it!" she said enthusiastically, grinning. "I bet you'll be good enough that you'll be doing tricks in no time!" She extended her hand to him, palm up for a hand shake or a high five, winking as she said, "And just call me Alex, 'kay? Only stuff-shirts at work call me Miss anything."
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:07 pm
Kumoru knit his fingers together and stretched a little, then laughed. "I can handle magic, I think. None of the children I have right now seem to have any, so that might be interesting." Well, unless the Raevan turned out excessively energetic like Serif. Or stubborn like Bhel. ... Well, he could try to be optimistic.
"And you're right, I'm sure mine will be fine," he added. It was the not knowing that made him slightly anxious, but it was not something Kumoru was willing to admit. He brushed some of the stray hairs from his long ponytail back over his shoulders and crossed his arms as he looked over at the traffic light. This intersection seemed busy today....
Donat nodded excitedly and hugged his board to his chest. "I can't wait to learn tricks! I'll try pushing myself along on the way home after shopping, so I can get a head start on learning tricks. They look like so much fun!"
The necromancer frowned ever so slightly and prodded Donat in the shoulder with his index finger. "Just wear all those pads so you don't hurt yourself," he cautioned the fearless boy.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:18 pm
Alex nodded her agreement with Kumoru, moving to cross her arms. "Don't go too quickly, okay? It'll all come in time." She smiled sidelong at Kumoru and his fatherly warning at Donat's enthusiasm. The woman felt that Kumoru would be a good owner...she just hoped the Raevan was of a pleasant temperament.
It was only then that she realized just how long the man's hair was. It was even longer than hers! Alex generally kept hers bound because it just got in the way, even in a ponytail. She found herself wondering how he managed to keep it away from the kids - since he mentioned having more than one, and Zoe was enough to make her want to rip her own hair out - when a flash of color caught her eye. "Ah, the light," she alerted the others with a smile. Alex walked into the street, slow enough so the others could follow.
Lorenzo was dumbfounded by the boy's excitement over the wood. What was so great about it? Why was he hugging it? It wasn't soft and agreeable like his plushies. He doubted he could sleep on it comfortably. What was the appeal? The dragon continued to stare, his attention moving only briefly give a glance at the stopped vehicles on the road.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:43 pm
Kumoru noted with considerable satisfaction that Alex was looking at his hair. In the city where he was born, only mages and other such high-ranking people could afford to wear their hair long; they did no manual labor, and therefore did not have to worry about hair getting in the way of anything. Since coming to Gaia, he had seen people of all walks of life with hair of varying lengths, though; the necromancer had gotten used to it, but it had not diminished his pride in his own jet-black hair.
He said nothing, though, until Alex pointed out that the light had changed. "Oh, there it goes. Long light today." Kumoru placed a hand on Donat's shoulder and led him across the street.
"I can walk alright by myself, Dad," Donat murmured in a voice that he hoped Miss Alex would not be able to hear. He sort of shrugged off his father's hand and ran ahead to set his board down on the opposite sidewalk.
With an enthusiastic grin, he hopped up onto the curb and right onto the board with both feet, and immediately spread his arms out for balance. As he wobbled, the board started to inch forward until it succumbed to the slope of the sidewalk and started to accelerate down the slight hill and past the grocery store.
"There, Dad, I got it!" the goat called over his shoulder with a giddy laugh as he worked to keep his balance.
The mage rushed to the opposite curb, and tried and failed to catch Donat's hand.
He gave Alex a long-suffering smile and a polite bow, telling her hurriedly, "Sorry, it was nice meeting you, but I should catch him before he runs into someone."
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:58 pm
Alex almost set after the boy as he started to roll, stopping only when Kumoru bid his farewell. There was more she wanted to say, more to talk about, but the boy, his skateboard and a downhill slope was bound for trouble. She gave Kumoru an apologetic smile and a quick wave, hoping the poor man could move fast in his robes.
In the same long-suffering fashion, Alex sighed and clasped Zoe's tail before he could fly after the boy. Lorenzo loved movement, and she could already tell he would have wanted to follow Donat and chase him down the street. Watching Donat and Kumoru, Alex smiled to herself, pleased to have met the different but refreshing duo. She stayed where she was long enough to ensure that the boy was caught safely before heading into the market.
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